Action taken after Khawaja Asif's LESCO complaint

Power Minister Awais Leghari said strict action was taken against a Lesco official after Khawaja Asif complained that villagers paid Rs80,000 for transformer repairs without a receipt. Asif said the case showed the difficulties faced by ordinary consumers.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari said action had been taken against a Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) official after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly complained that villagers were charged Rs80,000 for transformer repairs without being given any official receipt.

The matter surfaced in a social media post by Asif on May 30. He said a transformer in the village of one of his domestic servants had burned out, leaving residents without electricity. According to Asif, he then contacted a former Lesco chief executive officer and sought help in resolving the problem.

Asif said Lesco workers later repaired the transformer and collected Rs80,000 from villagers, who arranged the money through community contributions. He alleged that no receipt was issued for the payment and said utility staff refused to provide any documentation despite taking the amount in full. The defence minister said the episode highlighted wider concerns about accountability in the power utility.

"This is the situation where even a former power minister and a serving member of the federal cabinet cannot prevent such practices despite making a recommendation. You can imagine the plight of an ordinary consumer," Asif said referring to the incident.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Leghari said Asif’s post on X was a source of pride for us as we believe in self-accountability. He said strict action had been taken against the relevant line superintendent after the complaint was brought to public attention.

The power minister said the episode reflected the need for internal accountability and added that elected representatives had a responsibility to raise public grievances.

"This is a part of our self-accountability. It is the public representative's job to highlight people's problems," he stated.

Leghari’s remarks came after Asif reiterated that the villagers had paid the full amount demanded for the repair work, but Lesco staff still did not provide a receipt. The complaint drew attention to how consumers are billed for such repair work and whether proper documentation is being issued in all cases.